If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

First Bow Bird down...the Hard Way!

Cory Gabrielson, VP of Elk Mountain Gear, put the smack on this bird on Saturday in Northern California, using the SLIP System with the Dark Timber Cover for a Successful stalk and ambush.

I got the story firsthand yesterday, as Cory and I hunted the same property unsuccessfully in the pouring rain

Apparently, he was able to run around and get in front of the bird, spiked down the blind, and almost immediately saw the bird's head appear, bobbing up the skid road toward him at a brisk pace

He was able to successfully draw from behind the blind,and get off a 20 yard shot, smacking the bird hard. The bird proceeded to flop over the edge of a steep face, and rolled down toward the river.

Fortunately, the bird piled up about 10 yards shy of the Sacramento River. Cory was able to climb down, and come in underneath the bird, with the idea that if he flushed, he would head up away from the river.

The bird was piled up in a bunch of brush, with all his tailfeathers in a cone sticking straight up. Cory made the mistake of grabbing the tailfeathers, and the bird squawked and flapped his way back up the bank, leaving Cory with a handful of feathers. After 10 minutes of chasing the bird around, he was finally able to dive on it, and put a strangle hold on it, while the bird gave him a beating with his wings.

When he sent me the picture on my phone, I was in Sacramento with my family for a music competition. I called him immediately, and I was busting a gut laughing in the car with my family when he told the story.

Anyway, I wanted to post this for my buddy, because I know how hard he has worked to get this first bow bird.

Great job, killing one with a bow isn't an easy tack. I have been part of those rodeos you described. Earlier this year I shot one and got to him and he had pretty much quit flopping. I stood on his head with my left boot and was putting my mouth call away in my vest. He on the other hand was slowly bringing both feet up to my left shin. He went nuts on my leg and I was bleeding through my Smartwool socks before I could even react. Crazy birds will surprise you sometimes.